The Guardian

Life-sustaining sea ice needed for hunting, resting and breeding is declining in all 19 regions of the Arctic inhabited by the species

Polar bears are losing life-sustaining sea ice crucial for hunting, resting and breeding in all 19 regions of the Arctic they inhabit, a study warned on Wednesday.

As climate change pushes up Arctic temperatures, ice is melting earlier in spring and refreezing later in autumn, a team of researchers reported in the Cryosphere, a journal of the European Geosciences Union.

An anonymous note chiding a retired funeral director for hanging her frillies outside has gone viral. But it’s just the latest incident in the global war on drying

In the US, they would call them “freedom panties”, which sounds terrible. In the tiny Devon village of Stokeinteignhead, they are known as Rozamund Perrin’s controversial smalls. The retired funeral director is at odds with her prudish neighbours in the latest skirmish in a global war on washing lines.

“It is totally inappropiate [sic] for this type of garment to be displayed opposite the village primary school,” reads an anonymous note posted through Perrin’s letterbox with the offending knickers. “There are member [sic] of this community that would welcome a halting of this.”

All of the other 51 countries voted in favour of an international ban, including big mining nations China and Russia

Norway and Turkey were the only two of 53 countries to vote against an international ban on the dumping of mining waste at sea, at a major conservation summit in Hawaii last week.

Even big mining nations including China and Russia voted in favour of the resolution at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) congress.

The fossil fuel industry is dictating Republican Party actions on climate change in attorney generals offices, Congress, and for its presidential nominee

The GOP has become the Grand Oil Party. The fossil fuel industry has now managed to dictate Republican Party actions on climate change in attorney generals offices, Congress, and for the party’s presidential nominee.

Satellite data shows ice was close to last year’s record low confirming a long-term downward trend towards ice-free Arctic summers

Arctic sea ice cover could be confirmed within days as the second lowest ever recorded, the latest data suggests.

According to the US national snow and ice data centre (NSIDC) the ice which forms and disperses annually has been close to its minimum extent for the year for several days and has begun to grow again as autumn sets in.

Water companies warn of the likelihood of more shortages due to climate change and lack of investment in infrastructure

Londoners face a one in five probability of queuing in the street at standpipes for their water for days or weeks during a sweltering summer in the coming 25 years, owing to drought brought about by climate change and a lack of water infrastructure, new data suggests.

As the UK basked in unaccustomed September heat, with temperatures topping 30C on Tuesday, a report commissioned by water companies found that the likelihood of droughts was increasing, while investment in water supplies failed to keep up with likely demand.

Plastic wrapping, mobile phones and disposable coffee cups top the list of items people are uncertain about, poll finds

British consumers admit that they are confused about exactly what household waste they can recycle, a new poll reveals, with plastic wrapping, mobile phones and disposable coffee cups at the top of their list.

Frustrated by what they can and can’t recycle, 63% of householders are puzzled that different councils collect waste in different ways - for example, using different colour bins - while 43% say they are not sure which days to put their bins out.

State of Nature reveals the destructive impact of intensive farming, urbanisation and climate change on plants, animals and habitats

More than one in 10 of the UK’s wildlife species are threatened with extinction and the numbers of the nation’s most endangered creatures have plummeted by two-thirds since 1970, according to a major report.

The abundance of all wildlife has also fallen, with one in six animals, birds, fish and plants having been lost, the State of Nature report found.

The UK is among the most nature-depleted countries in the world, according to a major report from more than 50 conservation groups. More than one in 10 species is threatened with extinction - but some are making a comeback

Wenlock Edge What determines that moment when they can stay no longer, when, come hell or high water, it’s time to go?

Like clothes pegs on a washing line the swallows are still, perching on the electricity cables. For once, since they arrived in spring, they have to stop, even in daylight. What they are pegging on the line between them is an invisible sheet, a map of their endless journey, north and south.

They pause. Seconds ago they were skimming at breakneck speed inches above the grass, the slightest error likely to be their last. Yet the excitement seems to embolden them, to give them heart.

A coalition of 25 prominent members of US national security community warn that higher temperatures and rising seas will inundate bases and fuel conflict

A coalition of 25 military and national security experts, including former advisers to Ronald Reagan and George W Bush, has warned that climate change poses a “significant risk to US national security and international security” that requires more attention from the US federal government.

The prominent members of the US national security community warned that warming temperatures and rising seas will increasingly inundate military bases and fuel international conflict and mass migration, leading to “significant and direct risks to US military readiness, operations and strategy”.

Alice Springs is the capital of Australia’s Red Centre, and the perfect base for exploring the vast, rich expanse at the heart of this country. The town sits at the foot of a long mountain range, along the edge of the - usually dry - Todd River. Keep an eye on it if there’s rain - as the tale goes, you’re a local once you’ve seen it flow three times. Self-driving is the best way to visit this region

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Australia’s northernmost capital city is closer to Singapore than Sydney, and a visit to Darwin is a heady mix of Southeast Asia and quintessential Australia. Steamy tropical weather, fascinating military and colonial history, and the friendly, multicultural community make this a holiday far from home

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The One Nation senator dismisses the conventional scientific view of climate change. Here are the holes in his most commonly deployed arguments

The election of Malcolm Roberts as a One Nation senator has put Australia’s media in a difficult spot.

In his first speech to Parliament on Tuesday, Roberts made many false claims about climate change. He said that climate change was a “scam” and implied that it was some sort of conspiracy between all the major international research agencies. “ ... there is no data proving human use of hydro-carbon fuels affects climate,” he said.

Impetus for the new survey came from analysis that could not find clear link between reef health and human impacts

Scientists working on a Nasa-led project are scanning large swathes of the Great Barrier Reef as part of the biggest assessment of the world’s coral reefs ever undertaken.

My friend Hugh Boyd, who has died aged 91, made a massive contribution to wetland and waterbird conservation at world level over six decades.

Hugh was recruited to Peter Scott’s groundbreaking team as the first research biologist at the Severn Wildfowl Trust (now the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust) at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, in 1949. Over the next 20 years, Hugh and the team exerted an immense influence encouraging younger ornithologists and developing “citizen science” networks of volunteer counters for annual monitoring of waterbird population sizes.

August continued the remarkable streak of record hot months in 2016, equalling July as the hottest month on record

In what has become a common refrain this year, last month ranked as the hottest August on record, according to NASA data released Monday. Not only that, but the month tied July as the hottest month the world has seen in the last 136 years.

August came in at 1.76˚F (0.98˚C) above the average from 1951-1980, 0.16C above August 2014, the previous record holder. The record keeps 2016 on track to be the hottest year in the books by a fair margin.

在非洲大陆盗猎活动愈发猖獗，各类保护行动已经在进行，但拯救这一陆地上最大动物的战役离胜利还很遥远。(翻译：子明/chinadialogue)

在肯尼亚北部的桑布鲁国家保护区，当炙热的阳光已经软化成轻柔的夜光时，我跟着大卫·达巴伦钻进一辆吉普车，去寻找大象。

Related: Why the Guardian is publishing its elephant reporting in Chinese

Formal response rejects measures urged by MPs to tackle dangerously high levels of air pollution in British cities

Campaigners have attacked the government for rejecting calls by MPs for greater action on air pollution, as severe pollution episodes were predicted for parts of the UK this week.

MPs warned in April that dangerously high pollution in British cities was a “public health emergency”, and told ministers to take further measures, including more clean air zones and a diesel scrappage scheme.

San Francisco startup says its products taste identical but tackle guilty conscience of consumers concerned about large environmental footprint

After lab-grown meat, get ready for animal-free cow’s milk. A San-Francisco startup believes it has found a solution for the guilty conscience of consumers who love eating dairy ice-cream, cheese and yoghurt, but oppose factory-style farming and its environmental footprint.

Through a combination of yeast, cow DNA and plant nutrients, Perfect Day claims to have created a product identical in taste and nutritional value to cow’s milk, but without any udders involved.